Nearly every high schooler has the experience of being handed a thick book, cover peeling, covered in pencil doodles in the first week of school: The Textbook.
Bags sag for no longer than a day, as these books are shoved to the back of closets ‘til the end of the year rolls around. These massive books used by so few are costly for the district, and every year, they become increasingly outdated.
Yet, many students write off physical textbook readings, often turning to lighter online versions that still don’t get read.
As the level of discipline and textbook reading expectations dwindle, the question is: will textbooks continue to be a part of the curriculum?
When interviewed, the overwhelming opinion of the teachers felt that physical copies were ideal for students. Mrs. Howe, who teaches US History, Psychology, and Sociology, cited the research on developing brains and using screens as little as possible.
She also felt as though students absorbed the material better with physical copies. Unfortunately, she’s unable to put this into practice, especially in sociology, as her oldest book is from 2001, and her newest is from 2014.
Mr. Trinkner held a similar opinion. Recently, there’s been an update to the AP Economics curriculum; however, the textbooks remain the same.
Mr. Trinkner was also frustrated with the expiration of the online textbook subscription, which had a helpful read-aloud option, a Spanish version. He was more convenient for students who live in multiple homes or need to remember their textbooks for class.
The majority opinion of every teacher was that textbooks, mainly physical textbooks, were crucial to class; however, the outdated books made lessons more difficult.
Mr. O’Block agreed with other teachers that physical textbooks were essential. Still, his science textbooks were so outdated he abandoned them altogether, choosing to create his own assignments and share resources he found himself.
Yet, there’s hope. Four years ago, the district hired a new director of academic services, Lynn Gershman, who is now in charge of revamping our textbooks and other classroom resources. Since curriculum updates were paused during COVID-19, they’re only starting again.
So far, high school social studies and science, along with middle school math. This year, the district is taking on high school math and world languages and better resources for health classes from kindergarten to 12th grade.
All this to say, our textbooks are outdated, which is difficult for teachers as they’re the best resource for classes to use. However, with Ms. Gershman as the new head of academic services, we’re starting to see more updates. Let’s hope they continue ‘til outdated textbooks stay in the past.
